Cellphones in Japan

[BrianM]

I've seen movies made in 2000 and 2006, all Japanese and one thing i noticed is that almost all of them have these short strings or w/e u call it hanging off. Maybe a strap? Anyways i just wanted to know why most phones have them.

[b4d0m3n]

To hang the phones off belts, maybe?

[Shado]

I think you are talking about a wrist strap, and it's to hang the phone of your wrist. Or you can wrap the strap around your wrist so that when you hold your phone you reduce the risk of dropping it.

[BrianM]

oooo ok, thanks, tahts all i wanted to know lol,

[Mukade]

They're really just for decoration. Some extreme examples have high-school kids with 15 or 16 small stuffed animals hanging off their cell phone. It gets so bulky they need a seperate bag just to carry their phone!

But yeah, originally, I think, the cellphones came with a place to attach a neck or wrist strap, but it just became a place to hang your personal mojo.

The straps can be purchesed all over Japan, but they are also common 'bonus' items when you buy drinks, snacks, etc.

[prep_girl_Nessa]

There was a commercial once like that, only it was Gackt (A Japanese singer) hanging off the phone... and when someone called, he said "Ring Ring!" It was quite funny, actually.

But yeah, I think it's fashion and to keep it in a convinient place. Some people in America have those stupid looking phone holders... it's like the same thing, I think.

Editted for spelling errors; I really shouldn't try to type when I'm doing homework >.<

[keatonatron]

On my phone, I have a little spongebob figure that they were selling for cheap at KFC, and a rollercoaster car modelled after Fujiyama (the famous rollercoaster at Fujikyu) that I got after riding the real thing.

It's not on my phone, but I also have a Hard Gay one: it's a little black box with his picture on it, and when you press the button it lights up and plays his catchphrases.

As you can imagine, the outside of a cellphone is a pretty high-friction place, and I've gone through lots of straps! Which remings me, the decorative dealys are called "Keitai straps", so I'm pretty sure they evolved from actual carrying straps.

[Harisenbon]

I had a little windchime on mine that rang every time I moved while using the phone. It pissed off my mother in law so much that I had to start holding it to the phone when I talked so that it wouldn:t ring.

[mewarmo990]

ハードゲイです！ WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! B)

Ahem, yeah. Cell phone strap clip thingies are everywhere in Japan. I have a SpongeBob thingy too.

Oh, and their cell phones come out two years ahead of ours.

[becks23]

mewarmo990 wrote:
ハードゲイです！ WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! B)

I remember watching one of his episodes where he goes about asking people if they wished their dad a happy father's day. When he asks one guy to phone his dad, he pulls his phone from...below his belt

He is incredibly funny though.　オーケ！How he does that walk in public is beyond me

[Harisenbon]

Oh, and their cell phones come out two years ahead of ours.

Just 2?
I had a 50 dollar full color camera phone with Java applets back in 2001.

[keatonatron]

And all Docomo phones now come standard with web browsing, video confrencing, and a 300-hour standby battery life.

I don't see that coming to the States in 2 years

[Frumious Boojum]

I used to have some Nightmare Before Christmas straps... One was a series of Jack Heads, another had a zero that blinked with incoming calls. They all had other charms to add to it. This was back before America cashed in on the Nightmare Before Christmas craze.

And now, you can go into a Verizon Wireless store and buy straps... surprised it took America so long to start offering them, especially now that many phones don't even have places to put wrist straps now!

[Shibakoen]

keatonatron wrote:
And all Docomo phones now come standard with web browsing, video confrencing, and a 300-hour standby battery life.

I don't see that coming to the States in 2 years

:@　Y'all are making me miss Japan even more. The crappy little phone I got from Sprint for $100 last year is no where close to the one I got from docomo for FREE 3 years ago. :@ American phones are crap. RAZR? PLZ... And if I hear that damn nextel walkie-talkie beep again, I'm going to swim back to Japan since I can't afford the plane ticket right now (or maybe I'll just make the redneck with the walkie wish he were in Japan).

Anyway, the craziest one of those phone accessories I ever saw was this one this girl had on the train where the phone was basically the mouth of the stuffed animal. Openning her phone was like openning the mouth of the doll. But those dangly thingies are definitely everywhere. 5 thingies hanging off seems pretty standard, but I have seen some with like 50. I've even seen salarimen talking on hot pink keitai with like 20 kitty-chan thingies.

[chikara]

keatonatron wrote:
And all Docomo phones now come standard with web browsing, video confrencing, and a 300-hour standby battery life.

I don't see that coming to the States in 2 years

My understanding is that the technology used in mobile (cell) phones in Japan is unique to Japan. My GSM phone which works in quite a number of countries, including the USA, is useless in Japan. I had to hire one to use while I was there.